Conductive Conversations

What LPs Really Think About VC Fundraising | Ben Choi

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, host Carey Lai sits down with Ben Choi to unpack the reality behind venture capital and what LPs actually look for when backing funds. Most founders think VC fundraising is about pitching. It’s not. Ben shares a rare inside perspective from over 20 years across startups, venture capital, and now as a Limited Partner. From growing up as the son of Chinese immigrants in Peoria to studying computer science at Harvard and becoming a founder and investor, his journey gives deep insight into how the system really works. This conversation breaks down how capital actually flows, why fundraising is a sales process, and what separates top-performing funds from the rest. What you’ll learn: • Why most founders misunderstand VC fundraising • How LPs evaluate funds and make decisions • The strategy behind investing in first-time fund managers • How the VC industry has evolved over the last two decades • Why partnership dynamics can make or break a fund • The truth about AI: short-term hype vs long-term impact • How to approach fundraising like a structured sales pipeline This episode is for founders, operators, and anyone serious about understanding venture capital beyond surface-level advice. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Why this episode will change how you think about investing 01:31 – Meet Ben Choi: From operator to investor across VC, startups & big tech 04:42 – Small-town beginnings: Growing up as the son of Chinese immigrants 07:45 – The move that changed everything: Peoria → San Francisco 09:58 – Rejected by banks… so he chose startups (and it paid off) 13:01 – Fundraising decoded: Why it’s just sales in disguise 21:30 – Imposter syndrome never left… here’s how he uses it as an edge 33:26 – The hidden LP strategy: Betting on first-time fund managers 37:01 – Is VC broken? The truth about big funds vs small firms 01:03:23 – What separates top VCs: The 3 unfair advantages 01:26:51 – Rapid fire: The surprising personal side of Ben 01:31:42 – AI predictions: Why most people are thinking too short-term 01:40:21 – A 6-year obsession: Turning a 1969 VW Bug into an electric car For more information, visit our website: https://conductive.vc/ 👉 Subscribe to Conductive Ventures for more deep-dive conversations with world-class founders, operators, and thinkers. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Tennis & Tech: Lessons from the Court

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, host Carey Lai brings together two leaders whose lives followed parallel paths long before they ever spoke about business. For Juan Jaysingh, tennis was not a side pursuit. Starting in India at age 10 and continuing after moving to the U.S. at 14, the sport became a decision-making framework. It earned him a full scholarship, shaped his years at American University, and later influenced how he runs Zingtree with a sharp focus on discipline and capital efficiency. Across the net sits Martin Blackman. A former Stanford player, ATP professional, and longtime leader in U.S. player development, Martin has spent decades inside elite performance environments. From listening to Wimbledon on BBC Radio in the 1970s to leading the Junior Tennis Champion Center, his career has been defined by building systems that produce excellence over time. He was also the American University coach who first recruited Juan to the school. Rather than talking tactics or trophies, this conversation explores something deeper: how repetition builds judgment, how pressure clarifies priorities, and why long-term performance depends more on mindset than momentum. This episode is for anyone curious about how elite sports quietly trains leaders for life and business. 🕒 Timestamps 0:00 — Trailer: Where Potential Actually Comes From 0:58 — Two Paths, One Discipline: Juan Jaysingh and Martin Blackman 1:39 — Growing Up Inside the Game: Martin’s Early Tennis Roots 2:22 — Intro: Conductive Conversation 2:48 — From India to American University: Juan's Turning Point 3:39 — When Sport Becomes a Business Framework 4:18 — Landing in the U.S. at 14: Learning Everything From Scratch 5:03 — Small Shocks That Change You (Cars, Candy, and Context) 5:49 — Finding a Voice in a New Language 6:15 — Adapting Fast: Culture, Space, and Scale 7:09 — Taste as a Metaphor for Change 8:31 — Tennis as a Doorway to Education 9:06 — Why Track Came Before Tennis 10:09 — Picking Up a Racket at 10 10:54 — Martin’s First Steps Into Tennis 11:45 — A Scholarship That Altered the Trajectory 13:30 — Nick Bollettieri and the Economics of Opportunity 14:40 — What Each Career Chapter Quietly Teaches You 15:18 — Missing the Pro Dream and Gaining Something Better 16:19 — From Player to Coach: An Accidental Shift 16:46 — Why Failure Accelerates Learning 17:31 — Handling Wins and Losses Without Identity Collapse 18:13 — Becoming Head Coach Without Expecting To 19:33 — Spotting Hunger: Recruiting Juan 21:22 — Leading Young, Leading Early 21:40 — Navigating College Recruitment Decisions 22:56 — The Road Almost Taken 23:44 — Learning Who Martin Blackman Was 25:11 — The Conversation That Changed the Decision 26:11 — Why Martin Pushed So Hard to Recruit Juan 27:20 — Quiet Inflection Points That Shape Careers 28:58 — Watching Excellence Up Close: Jim Courier 30:16 — What the Pursuit of Excellence Actually Looks Like 31:02 — The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Improvement 31:50 — Feedback as Fuel, Not Criticism 33:44 — Character as the Hidden Variable 35:59 — Coaching Values That Outlast Results 36:47 — Building a Self-Policing Culture 40:07 — When the Leader Becomes Accountable 41:44 — Translating Team Accountability to Zingtree 42:53 — Progress as a System, Not a Sprint 43:10 — Doing the Work After the Match Ends 44:20 — Training the Brain for Emotional Control 45:32 — Admitting to Choking 47:35 — Playing to Win vs. Playing Not to Lose 48:19 — Why Business Needs Faster Feedback Loops 50:31 — The Patriot League Finals Moment 52:10 — Process Over Outcomes 52:31 — Why Choking Is Often a Sign You’re Close 54:17 — Capital Efficiency, Explained Through Tennis 55:12 — The 80/20 Rule on the Court 56:49 — Rafael Nadal and Mental Discipline 57:39 — Why the Right Constraints Create the Best Performance For more information, visit our website: https://conductive.vc/ 👉 Subscribe to Conductive Conversations for more in-depth conversations with world-class founders, operators, and thinkers. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

From Bias to Better Fundraising: Laura Huang’s Tactics for Founders

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, host Carey Lai sits down with Laura Huang, Distinguished Professor of Management and Organizational Development at Northeastern University and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of EDGE: Turning Adversity into Advantage and You Already Know: The Science of Mastering Your Intuition. A leading thinker on bias, entrepreneurship, and intuition, Laura has held faculty positions at Harvard Business School and Wharton and has been recognized by Thinkers50 and Poets & Quants for her impact on business and leadership. Together they unpack the real stories and research behind EDGE and You Already Know, why Laura wrote these books, how being underestimated can become your greatest asset, and how her EDGE framework (Enrich, Delight, Guide, Effort) helps founders and leaders turn adversity into opportunity. Laura shares insights from her work on accent bias, investor Q&A dynamics, and her “Ten Nos” exercise, giving tactical tools for navigating perception, bias, and high-stakes pitch meetings. The conversation also explores the future of work, teaching, and entrepreneurship in an AI-driven world, how AI is changing jobs, how it will reshape the classroom, and how entrepreneurs can use AI as a force multiplier rather than a threat. Drawing from You Already Know, Laura explains intuition as a trainable synthesis of experience and data, and shows how founders can sharpen their “gut feel” to make better, faster decisions in uncertainty. If you’re a founder, investor, or operator navigating bias, AI, and high-stakes decisions, this episode gives you a playbook for turning disadvantages into an edge and learning to trust what you already know. 👉 Subscribe to Conductive Conversations for more deep-dive conversations with world-class founders, operators, and thinkers. #ConductiveVentures #CareyLai #LauraHuang #EdgeBook #YouAlreadyKnow #VentureCapital #Startups #Entrepreneurship #AI #FutureOfWork #StartupFunding #PitchingInvestors #BusinessLeadership ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

“Many people feel seen by the works I do”: Interview with Abigail Hing Wen

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, Carey Lai, co-founder and managing director of Conductive Ventures, speaks with Abigail Hing Wen, New York Times bestselling author and former Silicon Valley dealmaker at Intel Capital. Abigail shares her unique journey from clerking at the DC Circuit Court to working at Intel on AI investments, and becoming a celebrated author and Hollywood filmmaker. She delves into her life, growing up with activist parents, navigating the often challenging career path as an Asian American woman and how she has honed her creative process writing novels. Abigail also discusses her transition to filmmaking with her directorial debut, 'The Vale', and the challenges and rewards of adapting her books into movies.  About Abigail Hing Wen Abigail Hing Wen works at the intersection of storytelling and technology. She is a New York Times Best Selling Author of five novels, producer, director, woman-in-tech leader specializing in artificial intelligence, as well as a mother of two. She writes and speaks about tech, AI ethics, women’s leadership and transforming culture. Abigail penned the New York Times Best Selling and Indie Best Selling novel LOVEBOAT, TAIPEI and its two companion novels. She executive produced the film adaptation of the Paramount Plus original film, LOVE IN TAIPEI starring Ashley Liao (Hunger Games) and Ross Butler (Shazam). Her middle grade debut, THE VALE, has been partially adapted to a short film prequel THE VALE–ORIGINS starring Lea Salonga. She and her work have been profiled in Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan, Bloomberg, Seventeen, Google Talk, People, People en Espanol, South China Morning Post and the World Journal, among others. Abigail holds a BA from Harvard, where she took coursework in film, ethnic studies and government. She also holds a JD from Columbia and MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In her career in tech, she has negotiated multibillion dollar deals on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, worked in venture capital and hosted Intel’s Artificial Intelligence podcast. About Carey Lai Carey Lai is a Founder and General Partner at Conductive Ventures focused on finding overlooked entrepreneurs who are building capital-efficient businesses who punch above their weight. With deep experience in software and tech-enabled services, Carey brings a results-driven, hands-on approach to scaling businesses empowering founders who dare to dream big and make the nearly impossible a reality. Carey’s journey to becoming a seasoned venture investor over the past 20 years has been anything but conventional. Before founding Conductive Ventures, he spent over seven years diving into the world of tech investing at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), where he specialized in later-stage, high-growth companies in the enterprise software realm. He was involved with companies like ArcSight (ARST), At Road (ARDI), Business.com (DEXO), Concur (CNQR), Cortina Systems (acquired by Inphi), Danger (MSFT), Data Domain (EMC), Mobile365 (SAP), SuccessFactors (SFSF), Synchronoss (SNCR) and Yodlee (YDLE). After IVP, Carey continued to sharpen his investment experience at Intel Capital, where he honed his focus on the most promising Internet and enterprise software companies. His portfolio included 500Friends (acquired by Dentsu), Box (BOX), BrightEdge, Gigya (acquired by SAP), Kabam (acquired by Netmarble), Nexmo (acquired by Vonage), Onefinestay (acquired by AccorHotels), Sprinklr (CXM), and SweetLabs. This episode of Conductive Conversations was produced by Carissa Lai for Conductive Ventures. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

"The Cap Table is Your Treasure Map": Interview with Joshua Lee, Founder and Former CEO of Ardius

In this episode of Conductive Conversations, Carey Lai, Founder & General Partner of Conductive Ventures, sits down with Joshua Lee, the comics-loving entrepreneur and former CEO of Ardius. Joshua opens up about his leap from a 14 year tax career at Ernst & Young to building and investing in startups, an inspiring path shaped by his single mom upbringing and experiences as an Asian American founder. He dives into aligning passion with career, lessons from the venture capital world, and the tricky balance between family and work. As a founder and investor, Joshua leaves founders with one powerful insight: “Your cap table is everything—it’s the only thing that truly matters at the end of the day.” Joshua and Carey met while in UCLA and have been life-long friends since. About Joshua Lee Joshua Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Ardius, which sold to Gusto in 2021. Prior to Ardius, Joshua served as a senior executive for over 13+ years with Ernst & Young, a leading global consulting and advisory firm. It was there he focused primarily on understanding the impact of various credits and incentives for both start-ups and Fortune 100 companies alike. After starting his own venture fund(s) soon thereafter, he noticed his portfolio of companies did not have the same access to these types of credits and decided to set out to democratize taxes. A seasoned leader in start-up operations and funding, Joshua has had multiple exits as both an investor and founder. He continues to focus on fintech because it blends all of his accounting/tax knowledge with his passion for technology. Joshua currently serves on the boards of directors/advisors of numerous companies and holds multiple degrees in Business-Economics, Accounting, and Taxation. About Carey Lai Carey Lai is a Founder and General Partner at Conductive Ventures focused on finding overlooked entrepreneurs who are building capital-efficient businesses who punch above their weight. With deep experience in software and tech-enabled services, Carey brings a results-driven, hands-on approach to scaling businesses empowering founders who dare to dream big and make the nearly impossible a reality. Carey’s journey to becoming a seasoned venture investor over the past 20 years has been anything but conventional. Before founding Conductive Ventures, he spent over seven years diving into the world of tech investing at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), where he specialized in later-stage, high-growth companies in the enterprise software realm. He was involved with companies like ArcSight (ARST), At Road (ARDI), Business.com (DEXO), Concur (CNQR), Cortina Systems (acquired by Inphi), Danger (MSFT), Data Domain (EMC), Mobile365 (SAP), SuccessFactors (SFSF), Synchronoss (SNCR) and Yodlee (YDLE) After IVP, Carey continued to sharpen his investment experience at Intel Capital, where he honed his focus on the most promising Internet and enterprise software companies. His portfolio included 500Friends (acquired by Dentsu), Box (BOX), BrightEdge, Gigya (acquired by SAP), Kabam (acquired by Netmarble), Nexmo (acquired by Vonage), Onefinestay (acquired by AccorHotels), Sprinklr (CXM), and SweetLabs. Carey’s roots trace back to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he worked in the Technology Investment Banking Group. It was here that he got intimately involved in the software and financial technology sectors, handling high-profile offerings for tech giants like some of the leading technology companies in the world, including Blackbaud Software (BLKB), Computer Associates (CA), Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Sungard Data Systems (SDS), and Tibco Software (TIBX). This episode of Conductive Conversations was produced by Carissa Lai for Conductive Ventures. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.